Harry Potter and Slytherins Heir
by amy22
Summary: A family secret discovered in an attic...lives will change forever
1. Default Chapter

Chapter One -Who am I?  
  
Harry Potter glared up at the full moon. He was not happy. To say that was an understatement, in fact. Harry Potter was, in fact, extremely upset. Aunt Petunia had just walked in, dumped a box filled with various bits and bobs on his bed, and walked out, without saying a word. On closer inspection, the box proved to be filled with things such as his birth certificate, his parents marriage certificate, journals and letters. Harry knew quite well that Petunia had had these things for 15 years, and had only seen fit to give them to him on his 16th birthday.  
  
He flipped idly through the pages of his mothers diary. 'Harry said his first word today..Harry has been quite upset, he's growing another tooth..Voldemort killed James's mother..' Harry started. He had always wondered what had happened to his fathers family, and it appeared ot be right here. He turned the page back, and began to read it more carefully. The writing was jerky and upset in appearance, the parchment tearstained, the ink blurred in places. 'Oh my God. I cant believe it. That bastard murdered Anita! Voldemort murdered James mother! Harrys grandmother.dead.murdered by that monster. James is in shock. We only just escaped with our lives. She is the only reason why. She made us Floo out.said Harry would benefit more from his parents than an old woman. Why did I ever allow her to push us into the fire? Now she is dead, and it is my fault.James was unconscious, and I left his mother behind to be murdered.'  
  
Harry couldn't read anymore. He closed the diary gently, and angrily dashed the tears from his eyes. Reaching into the box, he pulled out his parents birth certificate. He glanced at his fathers, then froze. There was no name filled in for the father..Only his grandmothers name was written there. Anita Powell. Taking a deep breath, he looked at the next document. It was a wedding certificate, proving the marriage of Anita Powell and Alistair Potter, dated six years after the birth of his father. His father, who was a bastard. His father, whose name was not even James Potter. His father, who at birth had been given the name James Powell. And Harry realized that he was not a Potter either. But if he wasn't a Potter, who was he?  
  
Angrily, Harry pulled out a blank piece of paper and began to write with quick, jerky quillstrokes. Dear Remus, Why did you never tell me I am not a Potter? Why does noone tell me anything about my family? Why is everything kept from me?? Harry. Remus Lupin sat in the kitchen of Number 12, Grimmauld Place. 'Thank you, Molly,' he said, accepting the cup of tea she passed him. Several members of the Order were in the kitchen, to hear Snape's report. Severus himself looked pale, worried - even frightened. 'Alright, Severus,' Tonks said cheerfully. 'Spill.' Severus frowned slightly. 'I am afraid that there is no reason to act so lightly. And my news will eliminate any reason for not worrying.' Remus choked on his tea. 'Severus, whats happened?' he asked anxiously. 'Has Voldemort found a way to get to Harry?' 'I wouldn't find that a reason for worrying.' Snape said coldly. 'No, the Dark Lord has.informed.us that he.has a son.' This time Remus dropped his cup on the floor. Molly didn't even make a move to clean it up. 'Please, tell me you're joking, Severus,' Bill Weasley said in a choked voice. Snape shook his head. 'Indeed not. However, the Dark Lord is not entirely sure about the.identity.of his child. I believe that is due to the fact his.lady friend.left before the child was born. I also have reason to believe that the child was born just before his first rise to power. Which would lead one to conclude that this mystery child is now about the same age as myself and Lupin.' 'You mean to say,' Lupin said slowly, 'You and I probably went to school with this.person?' 'I daresay,' Snape replied. 'Unless the mother sent the child to another wizarding school. Or unless the child was a Squib.' Remus began to laugh. 'Voldemorts child, a Squib?' 'My sentiments exactly,' Snape said. 'So, what exactly are we going to do?' Charlie Weasley asked. 'My advice, Mr Weasley, would be to check all foreign magical schools for the enrolment of a Riddle approximately 24 years ago,' Albus Dumbledore said calmly from where he stood just inside the door. 'Why Riddle?' Remus asked. Dumbledore smiled slightly. 'Voldemort was not always Voldemort. He attended Hogwarts many years ago, under the name Tom Riddle. If he was indeed still Riddle when the child was conceived, it would stand to reason the mother would give the child the surname Riddle. Remus, is that Harrys owl that just flew in?' Hedwig landed on the table, and pecked Remus's arm gently. He stroked the white owl for a minute, then removed the letter from her leg. His eyes grew wider and wider as he read the letter.  
  
'Oh Merlin..' he breathed, staring in disbelief. 'This-this has got to be some sort of sick joke! It cant be true!' The letter slid from his hand and fell to the floor. Snape pounced on it, and read it out loud. Dear Remus, Why did you never tell me I am not a Potter? Why does noone tell me anything about my family? Why is everything kept from me?? Harry.  
  
Dumbledore looked quite startled. 'Harry is not a Potter?' he said slowly. 'What on earth does he mean? He's James's son, and James was most certainly a Potter.' 'I think he's generally upset about something,' Kingsley pointed out. 'Look at his writing.' 'Perhaps we should pay Harry a visit. Remus? Would you care to oblige?' Dumbledore said, frowning. Remus nodded, and rose. 'I'll go right now.' And with that, he turned and strode out of the room.  
  
'Hello, there, Harry,' a familiar voice said. Harry leapt out of the garden bed. 'Remus! You came! Are you going to answer my questions?' His voice had gone considerably angrier towards the end of his greeting. Remus sighed. 'Harry, I am afraid I do not know the answer. But perhaps, if you told me what gave you the idea that you were not a Potter I could help you.' In reply, Harry ran up the stairs and came down carrying a fairly large box filled with papers. 'Here,' he said bitterly. 'Its my Dads birth certificate. And heres his mothers and stepfathers marriage certificate.' He shoved the two documents under Remus's nose. 'Schiese,' Remus breathed, staring at the two. 'I think we need to talk to Dumbledore. Harry, where did you get these?' 'My Aunt had them. She gave them to me on my birthday.' 'Of course.Dumbledore placed a heap of legal documents and papers and the like in her care along with you.although they were meant to go back into your possession as soon as you went to Hogwarts.' Remus hesitated, then pulled a galleon out of his pocket. 'Harry, I'm going to make a portkey. I want you to hold onto the box and bring it with us.' He raised his wand, and the familiar blue glow rose up around the coin. 'On the count of three,' Remus said. 'One..two..three!' And they were jerked back to the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix.  
  
'And you say James never mentioned Alistair was his stepfather?' Dumbledore mused, looking thoughtfully at the birth certificate. Remus shook his head. 'Dead sure. We would've never guessed that Alistair wasn't his father. They were so similar.' 'Perhaps Alistair was Potters father,' Snape said spitefully. 'And he just didn't marry the mother of his child until several years after the child was born.' 'But if he did that, he would've got his name on the birth certificate too,' Harry said dully. He didn't appear to be taking the news well. But then, one would be a little shocked to discover they were not who they thought they were. Dumbledore riffled through a pile of papers. An old envelope with a green wax seal fell out. Dumbledore picked it up. 'Anita,' he read off the front. 'Give this to my son when he is of age.' He turned it over. 'The seals been broken.' 'Well?' Snape said impatiently. 'Open it! We may as well find out who Po- Harry is.' 'NO!' Harry said sharply. Dumbledore turned to look at him, eyebrows raised. 'I'd rather find out who I am myself, thank you, and in my own time.' Slowly Dumbledore passed the envelope. 'If that is what you wish, Harry. Severus, Remus.perhaps we'd better leave.' He turned and walked out. Snape followed without hesitation. Remus paused, opened his mouth as if to say something, then changed his mind and followed the others out.  
  
Harry turned the envelope back to the front, and stared at the writing. His grandfathers writing..His eyes narrowed. Hadnt he seen that writing somewhere before? The script was elegant and flowing, and seemed familiar. Shrugging off his thoughts, Harry turned it over yet again to the other side. The wax seal had indeed been broken. Green wax..with a nearly obliterated curling pattern on it. Harry felt a funny foreboding feeling creep into his stomach. Slowly, he lifted the flap of the envelope. The letter inside appeared to have been stuffed back in, which only increased Harrys feeling that something was not right. Swallowing hard, he pulled the letter out and unfolded it. Before he had finished the first sentence, he was deadly white. 


	2. Chapter 2

Remus looked up from his book has Harry walked back into the kitchen. He noted with a growing feeling of anxiety that Harry's pale and distressed appearance had only increased.

'Is something the matter, Harry?' he asked.

'No!' Harry snapped back, mouth tightening. Remus was taken aback, but decided not to press the issue. The two of them sat in silence to a while, Harry staring at the kitchen sink with a rather forced expression of great interest.

'Remus?' he asked finally. 'Can I ask you something?'

Remus nodded.

'What was that –thing—Sirius fell through in the – in the Department of Mysteries?'

Remus slowly closed his book and set it down at the table, a tired look washing over his face like waves washed onto the beach.

'I was wondering when you would ask me that,' he said softly. 'Nobody's quite sure what it is. That's why its there – for wizards to study it and try to work out its secrets. I don't know much about it, but from what I've heard its sort of a portal to the other side – to where the place your soul goes once you die.'

'And – and no ones ever come back?' Harry asked.

Remus shook his head. 'I wish they did, Harry. I wish they did.'

Harry gave him a small smile and turned back to the sink.

One week later, Snape was giving his latest report to the gathered members of the Order of the Phoenix inside the dining room.

'From the information that I have been given, the Dark Lord is going to…convince….his son to join his cause. He was of the mindset that with his son by his side, he will be virtually unstoppable.'

'I see…' Dumbledore murmured. He turned to Charlie, frowning. 'Any luck with the enrolments?'

'None,' Charlie replied. 'No one by that name enrolled at any of the European wizarding schools for the last 50 years…in fact, none since You-Know-Who himself.'

'It is highly unlikely that the child's mother would enrol them under that name,' Hestia Jones pointed out. 'She would know who the father was, obviously, and not want connotations attached to her child if anyone should know of You-Know-Who before be changed.'

'What about the magical quills that record all magical children born?' asked Mad-Eye. 'Surely they would've recorded the name…'

'A magical name-changing causes the child's names on those records to be changed,' Dumbledore said wearily. 'We never had much of a chance of finding young Riddle to start with.'

He paused, and stared thoughtfully into the fireplace. 'In desperate times, one must do desperate things,' he said. 'Remus, Tonks – I want to you round up all information on magical children born within a five year radius of the dates Severus gave us. Then, I want you to go through the profiles and records of every one of them and look for anything – _anything_ – that might link them to Voldemort. Looks, talents, whatever you can find.'

Tonks raised a lime green eyebrow at him. 'That's hardly going to be successful, Professor,' she said.

Dumbledore gave her a little smile, the twinkle returning to his blue eyes. 'Not everything is measured by success, Nymphadora,' he said.

'Good luck. I will not be here to help you – I have several conferences in China and the Middle East that require my presence over the next month or so, so will be unavailable for most of the time. Mundungus, if I could have a word with you outside….'

'He's crazy!!' Tonks grumbled as she and Remus pored over piles of documents that had been illegally procured for them by Kingsley and Mr Weasley. 'How on earth is anything we get out of these going to help us work out whether someone is You-Know-Who's son when its just photos and school records – seriously!!'

Remus gave her a small smile, glancing once more at Tom Riddles magical records which lay on the desk beside him. Tall, black hair, brown eyes, long fingers, best at Transfiguration and Defence against the Dark Arts…good at practicing them too, he thought to himself.

'Do you want a coffee?' Tonks asked.

'Thank you,' Remus said, highlighting several points on yet another sheet of paper.

'No problem,' grinned Tonks. 'I'm only trying to get out of work.'

Remus smiled back at her and began reading yet another sheet. He could hear Tonks fumbling around in the kitchen…the smash of coffee cups hitting the floor…Tonks cursing loudly and knocking the kettle over with her elbow….

She finally returned with two cups of coffee, looking slightly frazzled.

'Sorry it's a bit sweet,' she said. 'I accidentally spilt most of the sugar bowl into it…'

Remus idly flipped over the next profile. 'James…' he murmured, staring wistfully at the picture for a moment, then moving the place it in the 'reject' pile. Photo James waved at him with a long-fingered hand…Sirius had always teased James about those abnormally long fingers. He stared in growing horror and bewilderment at the picture. James had black hair. James was tall. James has been astounding at Transfiguration – he'd been good at most subjects, but especially so at Transfiguration. He knocked over his coffee cup as he pushed his chair away from the table. The hot drink spread among the papers, staining them pale brown. Tonks looked at him in consternation.

'Is everything ok, Remus?' she asked. 'I'm the one who's meant to knock things over here.'

Remus ignored her and stormed up the stairs.

'HARRY POTTER!' he yelled, banging open the door to the boys room.

Harry looked up from his copy of Quidditch Through the Ages, startled.

'Why didn't you tell me, Harry, why didn't you tell me what was in that envelope?'

'What – why – how?' Harry looked like an animal trapped in the headlights.

'His son. James is the son. You KNEW, Harry. James is, isn't he?'

Harry opened his mouth, closed it, then said coldly, 'I have no idea what you're talking about.'

'Don't lie, Harry!' Remus leapt forward and gave him a shake. 'I found the picture, don't –'

He gave a yelp and let go of Harry's shoulders as fast as he'd grabbed them – something akin to an electric shock had just shot up his arms.

'I'm sorry, Harry,' he whispered. 'But – is it true?'

Harry gave him the smallest of sad smiles, before nodding.

'Don't tell anyone, please don't tell them. I don't want anyone to know.'

Remus dropped into Harry's chair. 'I suppose…..James is dead….You'd never help Voldemort, and he can't find you here…there's really no need to tell anyone.' He rubbed his temples blearily. 'I suppose…we could ….' He broke off again.

'What about Ron and Hermione? They arrive this afternoon.'

'I'm not telling anyone.' Harry repeated stubbornly. 'Anyone includes them.'


End file.
